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Homemade organic, unsweetened yogurt | Foodie Friday

We talk a lot about non-dairy products, including yogurt. In last week’s post, I reviewed some commercially available yogurts. I wasn’t wild about some of them, mainly because of the sweetness. When I was searching for a non-dairy yogurt some years ago, I couldn’t find any that I could tolerate. My former hippie friend told me “If you can’t find it in the store, make it yourself.” I remember being flabbergasted at the notion of making my own yogurt, thinking “But I don’t have a yogurt maker, and I’m no longer a hippie!”

However, the drive for a good yogurt was enough to persuade me to at least give this recipe a try, and I’m so glad I did. To say it was a life-changer is neither hyperbole nor fake news. It’s true! For years, I ate breakfast at my desk. (I know it goes against the grain of mindful eating, but that’s how it was for me then…) Every working day, my breakfast was the same: plain unsweetened yogurt topped with raspberries and blueberries. I loved it. I looked forward to getting to the office so I could eat it! When dairy was no longer an option, I was stymied on several food fronts. This was several years ago and there weren’t as many non-dairy milk options as there are now (I’d never even heard of almond milk at the time!). Even drinking coffee was a bit of a challenge.

And as for my daily breakfast…I just didn’t know what to eat. Honestly, for the intervening years before I found this recipe, I have no idea what I ate for breakfast. But now I’m happily back to eating yogurt and berries just like before (with the addition of a few drops of bitters, some flaxseed, and a shake of cinnamon as well).

A word about the ingredients

The recipe calls for only three ingredients (four if you include the soaking water): soy milk, cashews (or cashew pieces), and probiotic powder. But each ingredient has specific requirements…

Soy milk: the milk should be organic, non-GMO, unsweetened, and full fat. (The fat helps to thicken the yogurt). I’ve tried this recipe with WestSoy Organic Unsweetened soy milk and with Trader Joe’s Organic Unsweetened soy milk, and have had success with both. But beware – if you use a different milk, make sure that it contains nothing except organic soybeans and water. I’ve been told that the recipe doesn’t work with milk that contains other ingredients.

Cashews: the nuts serve to thicken the yogurt without needing the addition of other commercial thickening agents. Buy organic, raw, and unsalted. Cashew pieces work just as well if you can find them and are usually more economical.

Probiotic powder: You can either use the contents of a probiotic capsule or loose probiotic powder. The probiotic bugs need to be lively for this recipe. I learned this lesson the hard way… Because I already had some probiotic capsules in the fridge, I wanted to use them rather than buy the loose probiotic powder. In my first batch, I used two capsules, but the yogurt was thin and insipid. I used three in the next batch but it wasn’t noticeably different. I used six capsules (!) in the next batch and thought I could see only the beginnings of a difference. So then I bought some fresh probiotic capsules and they made all the difference – I got thick, creamy, and tart yogurt!

Over time, and I don’t remember the reason if there was one, I’ve migrated to using a loose probiotic powder from Custom Probiotics, which I like very much. At approximately $1 per gram, it seems expensive at first sight…but since each batch of yogurt requires only 1 or 2 grams, one bottle lasts many months. I tend to use two slightly heaped scoops in each batch. The scoops are tiny (1 gram) so I probably use a little over two grams total – and even with making yogurt every ten days or so, one bottle lasts me almost 12 months. It’s worth every penny to me!

If you want to test this recipe without investing a lot of money, you could use a yogurt starter like the one Ruth uses in her two minutes, two ingredients yogurt. It’s super quick and easy to use.

A word about equipment

There’s no need to buy a yogurt maker, but if you already have one you can use it with this recipe. (I don’t have one.)

Temperature is a factor when making yogurt. If the yogurt gets too hot, it will kill the probiotic bugs. You can use a normal thermometer to keep the heat under control, or for around $16 you can buy this neat infrared thermometer. It makes temperature control really easy, and it’s fun to use around the house to see where the hot spots are!

I seriously love the yogurt that this recipe makes. It’s a big treat to sneak a spoonful in the afternoon. (I’m the only one in the house who eats it so it’s OK that I’m lifting it right out of the pot!) If you make it, I hope you like it too! Let us know what you think of it, especially if you try it with a different nut or milk variety.

Add the soaked cashews to the blender and whizz until smooth and creamy.

Transfer the mixture into a medium saucepan and add the remaining soy milk. Whisk to combine.

Over a low heat, warm the milk. Whisk occasionally to evenly distribute the warmer milk that's at the bottom of the pan so that you can take a more accurate temperature.

When the temperature reaches 110 degrees F (43 degrees C), remove from heat and pour into a glass bowl or yogurt maker. (Don't let the yogurt go above this temperature; if it does, wait for it to return to 110 before adding then probiotics.)

Open the probiotic capsules (or use loose probiotic powder) and sprinkle over the surface of the milk, whisking well to combine.

Place the bowl into a cold electric oven (leave it switched off) and turn on the oven light. In my oven, the warmth from the light holds the yogurt at around 100 degrees F and works perfectly. If using a yogurt maker, switch it on and leave it for 8 hours. If you don't have an electric oven, place the bowl in a warm place for 8 hours (10-12 hours if the warm place isn't very warm).

Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Recipe Type: Vegetarian, gluten free

Notes

**Watch the temperature closely when it gets close to 100; the last few degrees go by quickly, and it seems to take longer to cool down than it does to heat up! **The yogurt will thicken as it cools from the oven. **If liquid separates slightly from the yogurt, you can either stir it in or pour it off, depending on how thick you want the yogurt. **If the yogurt doesn't set or get sour, check the viability of your probiotics; they need to be active (i.e., fresh). **The tartness of the yogurt is controlled by the amount of time you let it sit in a warm place (fermentation time) and by the amount of probiotic powder used. If you want more tartness than the basic recipe provides, add a little more probiotic powder. If you want less tartness than the basic recipe provides, reduce the amount of fermentation time. (You need at least the stated amount of probiotic powder in order to create the fermentation.)

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Hi again -- here's the Almond Yogurt recipe; sorry about the format!
Soak 1 cup raw organic almonds overnight. Drain and rinse, remove the skins. Blend the almonds with 1/2 cup of the water, until thick and creamy. Add the remaining water 1/4 cup at a time (up to a total of 1.25 to 1.5 cups of water), blending until very smooth. Add 1/2 tsp probiotic and briefly blend again (or just stir it in). Pour the yogurt into a ceramic or glass bowl, loosely covered with a lid or dishcloth. Sit in a warm spot for 12 hours. If not sour enough after 12 hours, leave it to ferment for a bit longer. Optionally, you can stir in 2 tsp of lemon juice and 1 tsp vanilla extract at this point, and store in an air tight container in the fridge.
I hope this is helpful - let us know your results!

Hi Beth - thanks for taking the time to read the post and to post a comment. As an alternative to soy milk, you could try making your own almond milk and using that instead. Soak 1 cup of raw organic almonds in enough water to cover for 24 hours or overnight if you're short of time. Drain and rinse the almonds. You can remove the skin of the almonds if you prefer a whiter milk (it takes just a few minutes and it's easy; you just squeeze them off). Place the almonds in a blender and add 3 cups of water. Blend until smooth. If you were making the milk to drink, you'd strain the pulp at this point. Since you'll use it as the base of the yogurt, don't strain it; the pulp will help thicken the yogurt. You might also use homemade cashew milk instead (although it would be more expensive to make than the almond milk), or full fat canned coconut milk. (This is an experiment I haven't tried, but you've piqued my interest!) Good luck, and please do let us know how you get on. Thanks!

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